The first campaign finance disclosures of the 2026 election cycle are in, and they reveal early frontrunners across four Santa Monica races even as the field of hopefuls continues to grow well beyond those who have reported raising money.
In the City Council race, Douglas Trussler leads all candidates in total fundraising with $75,420, partly from a personal loan. Incumbent Caroline Torosis holds the strongest cash position and the deepest local donor base of any candidate in the four contests covered by this reporting period, which runs through June 30. In the down-ballot races, Robbie Staenberg has built a commanding lead for School Board, Kera Blades-Snell is the only Santa Monica College Board candidate drawing money from outside donors and Rent Control Board hopeful Sue Himmelrich has entered the race entirely self-funded.
City Council
Nine of the 20 candidates who have pulled papers for the three open City Council seats have filed detailed financial disclosures. Trussler's $75,420 total tops the field, boosted by a $25,000 personal loan alongside $50,420 in outside donations. Torosis followed with $60,009.66 raised, Lana Negrete brought in $42,646 and Brett Morrow raised $42,198.50. Eli Gill, Ashley Oelsen and Daniel Ivanov posted totals between roughly $20,000 and $27,000, while Angela D. Scott and Derrick Townsend rounded out the reporting candidates with under $20,000 apiece. Ericka Lesley has filed a statement of organization but has not yet reported itemized financial data.
Despite trailing Trussler in total receipts, Torosis holds the largest campaign war chest, with $53,361.72 cash on hand, followed by Negrete at $39,577.93. Trussler's heavier spending leaves him in third among reporting candidates with $38,879.93 on hand, while Morrow retains $36,127.33. Townsend has the thinnest reserves, with just $2,424.80 remaining.
The filings also show sharply different reliance on self-funding and local support. Scott financed most of her campaign through a $15,125 personal loan, and Townsend supplemented his donations with a $3,500 loan. By contrast, Torosis, Morrow, Gill, Ivanov, Negrete and Oelsen relied overwhelmingly on donor contributions, with smaller loans.
Donor geography also varied widely. Torosis reported the strongest local network. Trussler and Morrow, by comparison, drew heavily from outside the city. Ivanov's donor base skewed toward out-of-state support, particularly from Illinois. Negrete, Gill and Oelsen each drew a roughly even or majority-local mix, while Scott and Townsend reported smaller, largely local donor pools.
Santa Monica College Board
Among the six candidates who have pulled papers for four open College Board seats, financial activity has so far been limited. Blades-Snell is the only candidate reporting contributions from a base of outside donors, taking in $4,197.98 total, including $2,902.33 in itemized monetary contributions from 13 donors — six from Santa Monica — plus a $1,295.65 personal loan. Her committee ended the period with $2,745.95 cash on hand.
Thomas Peters reported $1,000 in contributions, all from a personal loan, with no outside donor support. Oscar de la Torre reported raising $5,000, also entirely from a personal loan, though his filing was submitted under a committee originally formed for his 2024 City Council run rather than one established for this Board of Trustees race. That committee also carries $12,813.73 in total outstanding debt, the largest of any candidate across the four races. Luis Barrera Castanon has filed only a candidate intention statement and has not yet submitted a financial disclosure. Virginia Reese and Sion Roy, who have also pulled papers for the College Board, have not reported financial filings covered in this period.
School Board
Robbie Staenberg dominates fundraising among the five candidates who have pulled papers for four open School Board seats, reporting $36,530.04 in total contributions, including $35,138.92 in monetary donations from a broad, geographically diverse donor base of about 56 contributors, roughly 33 from Santa Monica. Her committee ended the period with $34,744.88 cash on hand.
Laurie Lieberman reported the second-largest total, $8,550, with about 18 of her roughly 22 donors based in Santa Monica, leaving her with the most concentrated local donor base proportionally among School Board candidates. Harry Leshner reported $3,600, relying partly on family contributions and a $1,500 personal loan, while Alicia Mignano reported the smallest total this period, $700, with no itemized Santa Monica donors, though her committee still carries $2,000 in debt from personal loans made in prior election cycles. Stacy J. Rouse, who has also pulled papers for the School Board, has not yet reported financial data.
Rent Control Board
Of the five candidates who have pulled papers for three open Rent Control Board seats, only Sue Himmelrich has filed a financial disclosure so far. Her campaign reported $10,000 in total contributions this period, but the entire sum came from a personal loan rather than outside donations, with no monetary contributions reported. Himmelrich's committee reported $750 in expenditures and ended the period with $9,250 cash on hand. Candidates Kurt Gonska, Soledad Marcial, Zoë Muntaner and Heather Thomason have also pulled papers for the Rent Control Board but have not reported financial filings.
Qualified candidates
While fundraising activity is underway across all four races, no individual is a formal candidate for Santa Monica office until they complete the city's signature-gathering process and officially qualify for the ballot. Dozens of prospective candidates have pulled nomination papers since the filing period opened — 20 for City Council, six for the College Board, five for the School Board and five for the Rent Control Board — but as of July 29, only one has qualified. A small number of candidates, including Torosis, Barrera Castanon and Mignano, have returned their paperwork to the City Clerk's Office. As of Saturday, Caroline Torosis was the first and only individual to qualify. Completed nomination forms are due by 5 p.m. Aug. 7, a deadline that extends to 5:30 p.m. Aug. 12 in any race where no incumbent files papers.